It is part of reclaiming into the national dialogue, the truth that our country was, has been, and should continue to be a Christian nation, despite the best efforts of the enemies of God and Liberty to make us forget. As Mufasta said to Simba in The Lion King, "You have forgotten who you are. You are my son, and the one true King." So to, in America, there are those who would suppress our knowledge, that we are all Sons of the Most High, and that He is the One True King.

Accordingly, I will here give the lyrics and a tidbit of history for some of the most well-known patriotic songs--to awaken those who have fallen into slumber, to alert all those who may be letting down their guard, and to sound a clarion call that all the foes of America and of God's Blessing may flee!

The songs to be covered are

The Star-Spangled Banner (1814)

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) (1831)

America The Beautiful (1895)

The Stars And Stripes Forever (1896)

The Navy Hymn (Eternal Father, Strong to Save) (1860)

Let's get started.

The Star-Spangled Banner

This was written by an American lawyer (of all things), Francis Scott Key, who had sailed under flag of truce with another American, John Stuart Skinner, to a British ship to discuss a prisoner exchange, during the war of 1812. During the course of their discussion with the British officers, they happened to hear some of the plans for an impending British attack, so they were interned in the meantime. Keys was in a position to see the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore by the British fleet during the night, and penned the Defence of Fort McHenry the next day. It is now the National Anthem, and is sung at ballparks all over the country. Here are the modern lyrics:

O! say can you see by the dawns early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,Oer the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,Oer the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,Where the foes haughty host in dread silence reposes,What is that which the breeze, oer the towering steep,As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?Now it catches the gleam of the mornings first beam,In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it waveOer the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly sworeThat the havoc of war and the battles confusion,A home and a country, should leave us no more?Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slaveFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,Oer the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall standBetween their loved home and the wars desolation.Blest with victry and peace, may the Heavn rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,And this be our motto: In God is our trust;And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall waveOer the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The two most striking things to me here are the celebration of victory, and the contrast of free men with their opponents in the third verse --

"Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slaveFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave"

And the there is the fourth verse, with its explicit reliance on God:

"Blest with victry and peace, may the Heavn rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,And this be our motto: In God is our trust;

When I was I child, I remember being taught the third line as "Then kill if we must, for our cause it is just"--showing a self-assurance and confidence which has been systematically eroded among the youth of today ("who's to say...?" "what about [fill in the blank]?"

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)

This was written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, who was at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. (I am sure the Dems would be heartily embarrassed by this if they but knew it.) The tune, ironically enough, is set to "God Save the Queen."

My country, 'tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing;Land where my fathers died,Land of the pilgrims' pride,From ev'ry mountainsideLet freedom ring!

My native country, thee,Land of the noble free,Thy name I love;I love thy rocks and rills,Thy woods and templed hills;My heart with rapture thrills,Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,And ring from all the treesSweet freedom's song;Let mortal tongues awake;Let all that breathe partake;Let rocks their silence break,The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God to Thee,Author of liberty,To Thee we sing.Long may our land be bright,With freedom's holy light,Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.

Again, the first thing to note is the presence of unmistakable Christian overtones. From the first verse's remembrance of the Pilgrims, to the second verse's reference to "rapture like that above,", continuing to the third verse's allusion to Luke 19:40, and the triumphant prayer in verse four, this is anything but a secular piece. And the last two lines "Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King" are an echo of the Star-Spangled Banner's "Praise the Power that Hath Made And Preserved Us A Nation."

Incidentally, this song was the unofficial National Anthem until The Star Spangled Banner was selected.

America The Beautiful

This was originally written as a poem, Pikes Peak, by Katharine Lee Bates, who was an English professor at Wellesley in 1895 during a visit to Colorado (yes, a female English professor, back then, and one who loved her country). God only knows what kind of gyrations the current faculty there goes through to avoid serious contemplation of this song or its meaning.

America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea.

What more can be said except "Amen" ? Again, we have a recounting of American history and the emphasis upon certain Christian themes. The verses alternate with a chorus which retains its essential form, yet which changes with each repetition. The second verse again makes reference to the Pilgrims, as did My Country 'Tis Of Thee. The first chorus sets up the theme of "One Nation Under God" in asking for Grace for the country, and brotherhood. The second chorus asks that God fix those things which are wrong in the country, and echoes the Declaration of Independence in asserting that the law exists to secure God-given liberties : " Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law."

The next verse -- "O beautiful for heroes proved" establishes America as one ennobled by founders who were fighting not for personal gain, but for their country, at great cost: with echoes of John 15:13 "greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," and a reference to loving mercy more than life. Recall that John Adams (yes, that John Adams) defended in a Court of Law, the British troops involved in the Boston Massacre; and that Francis Scott Key was on a prisoner exchange mission when he was interned and forced to see the bombardment of his own country.

The next stanza continues the hope that God will purify America "May God thy gold refine" with echoes of Revelation 3:18 "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire".

Again, this is much more than a pagan paean to the greater Continental landmass.

The Stars And Stripes Forever

This is a song which is perhaps best known as a March, played seldom except during July 4th celebrations. It was composed by John Philip Sousa on Christmas Day, 1896. Even though it is usually performed as an instrumental, Sousa wrote accompanying lyrics.

Other nations may deem their flags the bestAnd cheer them with fervid elationBut the flag of the North and South and WestIs the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free!May it wave as our standard forever,The gem of the land and the sea,The banner of the right.Let despots remember the dayWhen our fathers with mighty endeavorProclaimed as they marched to the frayThat by their might and by their rightIt waves forever.

Let eagle shriek from lofty peakThe never-ending watchword of our land;Let summer breeze waft through the treesThe echo of the chorus grand.Sing out for liberty and light,Sing out for freedom and the right.Sing out for Union and its might,O patriotic sons.

Other nations may deem their flags the bestAnd cheer them with fervid elation,But the flag of the North and South and WestIs the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free.May it wave as our standard foreverThe gem of the land and the sea,The banner of the right.Let despots remember the dayWhen our fathers with mighty endeavorProclaimed as they marched to the fray,That by their might and by their rightIt waves forever.

This song is more stridently militaristic and nationalistic than the others. In different circumstances, one might be tempted to call it xenophobic. But notice the important difference: in contrast to showing blind favoritism to one's own country in preference to foreigners, Sousa extols the flag as the standard of Freedom, and the bane of despots--a role admirably fulfilled by the United States throughout history and continuing to the present day (Saddam Hussein, anyone?)

And this brings me to the final song.

The U.S. Navy Hymn

This song was orignally written as Eternal Father, Strong to Save in 1860, by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a student of his who was about to sail to the United States. The tune was by an Anglican clergyman, John B. Dykes.

The last two lines of each stanza explain its association with the Navy.

Eternal Father, strong to save,Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deepIts own appointed limits keep;Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heardAnd hushed their raging at Thy word,Who walkedst on the foaming deep,And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst broodUpon the chaos dark and rude,And bid its angry tumult cease,And give, for wild confusion, peace;Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!Our brethren shield in danger's hour;From rock and tempest, fire and foe,Protect them wheresoe'er they go;Thus evermore shall rise to TheeGlad hymns of praise from land and sea.

No analysis of these lyrics is necessary. It should be noted that this song was the last one played during the final regular religious service aboard the Titanic. It has also been played at the funeral of FDR and of JFK (both Democrats, by the way), as well as the funerals of Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan (Republicans). I guess that this means that it has bipartisan support.

g_w's note: Sorry for the delay. I should mention that during my proofreading of this piece, my description of The U.S. Navy Hymn originally read that "The tuna was by an American clergyman..." : which greatly affected the message sent by the essay.

Also, a FReeper, named The Dentist has requested that I include this link in this essay.

I remember when they used to end the broadcast day with a choir singing the Navy Hymn. It always gave me goosebumps.

R. A. Heinlein wrote a verse for spacefarers (in The Green Hills of Earth, which is also based on a terrestrial song), figuring (as did Roddenberry) that our experience in space would be Navy-based:

Almighty Ruler of the all,
Whose power extends to great and small,
Who guides the stars with steadfast law,
Whose last creation fills with awe;
Oh, grant Thy mercy and Thy grace
To those who venture into space.

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